Beer Can Chicken

This is a really interesting way of cooking chicken. This is an adapted Jamie Oliver recipe but I'm unsure as to whether it is his own recipe or one developed by some guys looking for a different way to cook chicken on the barbeque. This also cooks perfectly in the oven. The end result is a deliciously moist chicken. The beer not only adds moisture but also the yeast and malt reacts with the chicken, particularly the skin, making it crispy but still moist. I used a combination of spices that I like but you can use whatever you have available or a ready-made spice, such as a cajun mix. I served the chicken with homemade potato wedges, coleslaw and a green salad. Yummy.

The chicken ready for the oven.

Beer Can Chicken

Ingredients
1 chicken
1 can of beer
1 tsp mild chilli powder
1 tsp fennel seeds

1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp brown sugar
3 tbsp olive oil

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC / 350ºF / gas mark 4.
2. Add all the spices into a pestle and mortar. Grind them all together. Add in the oil and mix into a paste.
3. Open the can of beer and pour half into a glass. Now take a tin opener and remove the top. Be careful. Or else just remove the ring pull.
4. Take your chicken and rub the spice mix all over it both inside and out.
5. Place the beer can in a baking tray and sit your chicken on top.
6. Place it in a preheated oven and cook until golden. I cooked it for 90 mins.
7. Carefully take the chicken out of the oven, place on a plate, cover with tin foil and let it sit for at least an oven to allow all those lovely flavours infuse.